Broken
by wibblywobblytimeywimeygirl13
Summary: Kili is captured by Azog. Eventually he is reunited with his brother, but the youngest dwarf is not the same. Cowritten with: CamiBelle: /u/4479666/
1. Chapter 1

_Well, this is utterly fantastic_, Kili thought. Not only were the dwarves trapped in an underground city filled with goblins, but they were face to face with the Great Goblin himself. Greatest, fattest goblin of them all, he was considered by most to be rather insane. He also had a terrible knack for torture if you believed the stories. Not a good idea to be caught in his city. Which the dwarves were. Quite a pickle they've gotten themselves into this time.

"What are you doing in these parts?" the Great Goblin asked the company of dwarves. No one responded. "Speak!"

Still no reply came. The dwarves refused to give away their quest, no matter what the cost. They had signed on knowing that they might die, and die they would if it would help them reclaim the Lonely Mountain.

"Well then, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker. Start with the youngest, infants always squeal the easiest."

A look of panic came onto the Kili's face as the creature jabbed a finger in his direction. He looked around for his big brother. Surely Fili would find a way to get them out of this, right? However, Fili was being overtaken by goblins, unable to aid the young dwarf. "Kili!" Fili yelled, reaching for his brother. But the brothers were too far, both left to grasp thin air. Dozens of goblins then surrounded Kili, forcing him to the ground in front of their leader.

"Why have you entered my kingdom?" the Great Goblin asked the archer.

Kili looked at the creature with disgust. "We were just passing through," he replied shakily. It was a poor lie, but perhaps the beast was as stupid as he looked.

The great goblin laughed. "I do not like liars, little dwarf." The king nodded to one of his minions and they began forcing Kili down a rickety bridge. Kili kicked and scratched, managing to take down a few of the goblins. But for every he knocked away there was another and soon the dwarf had been pushed onto an unsteady platform. They threw him against the wall, but before the young dwarf had a second to fight back, the goblins had forced his hands behind his back and tied them with a rough rope dangling from the ceiling. Kili looked pleadingly at his older brother. His eyes begged for help.

Fili strained against the goblins that were holding him as he tried to reach his baby brother. He had protected the boy since the moment he had held him in his arms, and he would not forsake him now.

"Begin," the Great Goblin said.

A smaller goblin approached the frightened dwarf and removed a knife from it's tunic. It pulled the metal slowly up Kili's left arm, then shoved it deep into his shoulder. Kili saw stars and bit back a yelp of pain, determined not to lose his pride.

"No!" Fili yelped as the pained look crossed his brothers face and tried to wrench free from the goblins grasp, but it was no use. Kili cried out as the goblin drove a knife into his thigh.

"Would you like to tell me now?" the Great Goblin asked.

Kili took a moment to steady his breathing and gather what little composure he could muster before spitting a "No" at the goblin.

"Well, perhaps we need to a little heat will melt his frozen tongue." Kili gulped as he watched a goblin disappear into the darkness, only to reappear with a torch blazing in hand. The dwarf tried to flatten himself against the wall, as if it would prevent his tormenter from harming him. The goblin approached its target. It gripped Kili's injured arm, causing the dwarf to wince, and extended it. Then it shoved the arm into the flames of the torch and held it there as oozing blisters formed on Kili's skin.

The cry Kili let out was inhumane. It echoed through the halls of goblin town and broke the hearts of both his brother and uncle.

When Kili could form coherent words he screamed, "Stop! Please stop it! I don't know anything, I swear! STOP!"

Finally the goblin drew back the torch, and looked to his king for directions. Kili whimpered and pressed further against the wall, holding his arm gingerly out before him as he looked in horror at the blisters and red skin encompassing it.

Fili was wracking his brain for a way to free his brother. He had to think of something! He was Kili's big brother. The one who told Kili a story when he had nightmares. The one who sent away the scary goblins when Kili was little. This time was no different. He had to save his brother. He couldn't let him down now.

The goblin king stepped closer to Kili. "I will ask you again, and answer or don't. Either way is fine with me since I am enjoying this ever so much. Why. Are. You. Here?"

Kili breathed deeply, and mustered up every ounce of ruined courage and pride he still possessed. He spat in the goblin king's face, "Go to Hell."

The goblin king reached up and wiped the spit off his face, then with his enormous hand he grabbed Kili's burned arm and squeezed. The dwarf screamed, and the goblin laughed. "Not so defiant now, are you?" After what seems like a full minute he released the sobbing Kili's arm. "Fetch the whip!"

Then, Fili's plan hit him.

"Wait! Stop!" The Great Goblin looked curiously at the blonde dwarf. "He doesn't know anything! I just asked him to come along because he's my brother. I didn't tell him anything about what we're doing."

"But you know?" the Great Goblin asked.

"That is a possibility."

"Care to elaborate?"

"You'll have to kill me first."

"Is that a challenge little one? Bring him forward!" Fili went with the goblins willingly, glad to have their attention focused on anything other than Kili. His life was secondary. He had to get his brother out of there. They tugged at another rope from the ceiling and tied him to it, facing his brother.

Kili stared at him, finally realizing through the pain what was happening. "Fili! Fili, no!"

Fili smiled reassuringly at his brother and prepared himself for what was coming. On Fili, the goblin king wasted no time on knives. A goblin approached Fili with a whip and looked to the king. "Give him ten to start, then see if he talks."

The whip hissed through the air and Fili gasped as it dug into his flesh. Nothing could have prepared him for the stinging, burning pain emanating from his back. He gritted his teeth as the whip came down again. A small pained noise escaped him, but for Kili's sake, he would not cry out.

The whip came down again and again. On the fourth lash a yelp finally escaped Fili. On the seventh he began to cry. And on the tenth, he screamed.

"So," the Great Goblin said jovially. "Care to tell me now."

"You can wait until you rot, scum," Fili choked out. He would not betray his party so easily. He was a strong dwarf. He could do this. Just as long as they didn't hurt Kili.

"Very well," the goblin said. "Twenty more."

The whip beat mercilessly against Fili's skin. He screamed until he could scream no more, and then his brother screamed for him. "Please!" Kili yelled. "Please just stop! Don't hurt my brother anymore! PLEASE!"

The goblin king ignored the cries of the youngest dwarf and turned to Fili. "Would you like to tell me now?"

In response Fili inhaled deeply and spat blood at the goblin's feet.

"Quite the stubborn one, aren't you?" the goblin paused for a moment and gave Fili a frustrated look. Then a smile crossed his face "And so very loyal. Perhaps it's time we change tactics. Beat the other one."

With a grin the goblin that had been torturing Fili moved back to his brother. He brought the whip down on Kili's back and the younger dwarf yelped. And the goblin didn't stop there. The whip came down again and again until Fili lost count of how many times his brother had been hit. Kili had stopped screaming some time ago and now simply whimpered with each new lash as he sagged lower and lower, only the rope keeping him from falling to the ground.

"PLEASE!" Fili screamed. "JUST STOP HURTING HIM!"

The Great Goblin turned back to Fili. "I'll stop any the you like, little dwarf. Just tell me why you're here."

Fili sobbed. He couldn't tell. He shook his head.

"Very well then. The fun continues. I think a whip is rather unimaginative, don't you? Try the knife." The goblin took back up the knife and turned the barely conscious Kili around. Then he brought the knife down in a quick strike over the skin damaged by the whip. Kili let out a scream of agony and tried to twist away from the goblin, but it wrapped it's fingers around his wounded arm and held him fast as he cut his ruined back again and again.

"Now," the goblin king said, "are you going to tell me? Or shall I try fire on his back as well." Kili whimpered out a plea not to hurt him again, and Fili's eyes found his brother's half conscious ones.

It broke him. He looked to Thorin and mouthed "I'm so sorry" before turning back to the goblin king "We are going to Erebor. We are going to reclaim the Lonely Mountain."

"See now," the goblin king smiled, "was that so hard? Cut down the child and take him to the dungeon."

"What?" Fili yelled "No! You said you would give him back!"

The goblin king laughed "No. I said I would stop hurting him, and I have stopped. So, if you are going to reclaim Erebor, then Thorin Oakenshield must be among your company."

Thorin stepped forward, ashamed of himself for not doing so earlier. "I am here."

The goblin king grinned with delight "Oh, Azog will be delighted to have you!"

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago. He cannot be alive."

"Oh, but that is where you are wrong, Thorin Oakenshield." The Great Goblin turned to one of his minions. "Send word to the Pale Orc. Tell him I have found his old friend"

**Author's Note: Yep so we've jumped on the be mean to Kili bandwagon. And I know this scenario is kinda overused, but we're going somewhere original with it I promise. Please review with any feedback you have. After all we can't get better if we don't know what to improve. **


	2. Chapter 2

Kili's eyes opened to darkness. The first thing he knew was the pain. His left arm felt as if it was on fire. He tried to move to put out the blaze, and a great pain blossomed on his back. He cried out, but either no one could hear him or no one cared, for no help came. What had happened to him? Where was Fili? His big brother was supposed to be protecting Kili. Why wasn't he here when it hurt so badly?

Then suddenly it hit him.

He remembered the feel of fire devouring his arm, the never ending whipping that made him feel as if the skin had been stripped from his back.

He remembered his brothers look of terror as he slid deeper into unconsciousness. He had tried to fight it. He didn't want Fili to be afraid, but his back and arm were on fire and at least it was cooler in the dark.

He had to get back to his brother. He had to find a way out of his cell. Kili looked around for anything that could aid his escape. There was nothing. The room was merely a hollowed out section of rock. The only light shined in through a small hole in the door, which he couldn't even reach at his height. The only hope was the door. He drew himself into as near a standing position as possible, and threw his good side against the stone.

It was a mistake. Pain reverberated through his back and arm and black spots danced in front of his vision. He sunk to his knees and tried to hold on to consciousness. He would need to be awake if someone came for him, but the dwarf was only able to hold out a moment before the black spots condensed and his mind was dragged back to a world without pain.

* * *

The goblin king grinned hideously at Thorin as his messenger disappeared. "I have always desired an alliance with the orcs. I should thank you, Thorin Oakenshield, for making things so easy."

Thorin ignored the taunts. "Return Kili to us."

The goblin laughed. "Do not worry. You all shall be joining him. Chain them up and send them to the dungeons!"

It was at that moment that a flash of light emanated through Goblin Town, and the goblins fell back, shrieking in surprise. The wizard had finally come to their rescue, just not quite early enough.

"Take up arms! Fight!" Thorin screamed to his stunned comrades and soon the battle began. Between the dwarves and Gandalf they had soon cut a path through the goblins to their second youngest. Thorin cut Fili down and pulled the injured dwarf behind him. He dragged the boy over the bridges and finally into a corridor that led back to the daylight. It was at the moment that he saw the light shining from the exit that Fili stopped and turned around.

"Fili, come on." Thorin shouted, attempting to yank his nephew forward.

"No, Kili! He's still in there! We have to go get him!"

"Fili, you can barely stand up. We have lost half our weaponry. And we have no plan. Any attempt to save your brother now would surely kill us all!"

"But we can't just leave him there!" Fili finally managed to yank himself free of Thorin's grasp and started running towards Goblin-Town once more, but within a minute of his departure he stumbled over a rock and fell to his knees with a pained cry. The pain in his back would not allow him to stand again without help.

"No. Kili!" Fili sobbed. He knew any attempt to move toward his brother at this point would be suicide, but he could not leave him. He could not fail him. Kili would be down there waiting for Fili to come and save him just like Fili always did. The thought of this made the boy cry harder. The one thing he promised his mother that he would do, to protect his little brother, and he failed. Kili was all alone down there.

Thorin put a gentle hand on his nephew's shoulder. "We will go back for him, Fili. When it is safe too. I have no intention of abandoning my nephew. But you will be no good to him if the goblins kill you here." He extended his hand to Fili, and after a moment Fili took it and allowed his uncle to pull him to a standing position. "We shall find a nearby place to make camp."

Bilbo coughed. At some point he had found his way back up to the party from the depths of goblin town. Part of Thorin wanted to ask how he'd survived, but with his nephew missing he had not the energy to worry for the burglar. "Kili pointed out a hidden clearing, on our way here. We could have stayed there, but with the rain that night . . ."

Thorin nodded. "It will do." He put an arm around his nephew's shoulder, careful not to touch the boys injuries, and the party began to walk toward the clearing.

* * *

Kili winced as the door to his cell was opened and light flooded in, yanking him rudely from sleep. A goblin reached for him and he whimpered, twisting away, he just wanted to sleep. Still the creatures hands wrapped around him, and he hissed as it touched his burned arm. It yanked him to his feet and tugged him from the cell and up a flight of stairs, throwing him down at the feet of the Great Goblin.

The creature smiled down at Kili. "So how are we doing, brave little dwarf?"

Kili bared his teeth. "You have made a grave mistake. When Thorin comes for me you will perish and your city will burn!"

This made the goblin king laugh uproariously. The sound was one of the worst things Kili had heard in his life. "I am terrified, little one. Or perhaps I would be, had Thorin and his party not fled my domain like the cowards they are. They aren't coming little dwarf. They've left you."

Kili's eyes widened at the news. They'd escaped! They were safe! His brother was safe! Relief as he had never felt washed over him, and for a moment the pain was not quite as bad. Then the realization hit him that he been abandoned. It was the right choice, of course, a choice he would have asked them to make if he could have, but that didn't change the fact that he was going to die down here in Gobln-Town. There was no reason to come back for him. With his injuries he would be useless on the quest, and the reclaiming of the Lonely Mountain mattered more than the life of one dwarf. All of this he knew, but still the abandonment hurt him.

The goblin chuckled at Kili's expression. "That's right. So how about you tell me where they would have gone to camp? Then you can all be together again."

Kili possesed the energy for defiance no longer, but he would not betray his brother. He simply closed his eyes, shook his head, and waited for the pain. It came immediately. The goblin standing over him raised it's foot and ground it down into Kili's injured back. The dwarf screamed in agony. Kili wondered how long it would be before they let him die.

* * *

"You let them escape!"

Kili awoke again to the thundering voice of an unfamiliar creature outside his cell.

"Not-not all of them, your highness," a goblin replied.

"What do you mean, not all of them?"

"There was one still left in the dungeon when the others escaped."

"Is it Thorin Oakenshield?"

"N-no. It isn't."

"Then you have failed." A moment of silence passed before the creature said, "Let me see it."

The door to Kili's cell opened, and the dwarf was left to see a hideous orc with a claw instead of a hand.

He wanted to run but could not get to his feet, so he slid further back against the cell wall, as the creature entered his cell. It looked him over. "Well. What do we have here? You look like Thorin, but you are too young. Are you his son perhaps?"

Kili did not say anything. He just wanted this nightmare to end. The orc advanced rapidly into his cell and grabbed his injured wrist in a bone-crushing grip. "You will speak when spoken to, boy. What is your relation to Thorin?"

"I don't know him! We were just traveling together. I swear!" Kili knew how much worse things would get for him if the creature realized he was Thorin's nephew.

The orc considered this. "It matters not. You will tell me soon."

The goblin who had opened his cell spoke up. "We have tortured him. He will not speak."

The orc laughed at the goblin. "Torture? You have barely injured him. This boy is yet to know torture."

The Pale Orc jerked the injured dwarf to his feet.

"Tie him to a warg," he ordered one of his orcs. Kili was grabbed roughly and a small whimper escaped him as the rope was pulled quickly over his burned arm. He was laid on his back and bound to the creature. Every step it took jolted his injured back with pain and he could feel the scabs which had just begun to form reopening and blood leaking out of them. He wanted to go back to sleep, to unconsciousness, but the pain was too sudden and jolting to allow him to rest. His throat hurt from screaming and he was desperately thirsty, though he had a feeling it would be a while before he got anything to drink.

The light burned his eyes after the gloominess of goblin town, and he shut them, but still sleep would not come. The pain filled minutes ticked by and blended into hours without Kili ever knowing. Soon, or perhaps it was after a long while, they reached a spot that the Pale Orc deemed suitable and Kili was yanked roughly from the warg and tied against a tree, the bark scraping his bleeding back.

He sagged against the tree and felt that finally in the stillness sleep might come to him. He was slowly sliding into unconsciousness when a hand roughly smacked across his face and he startled awake. "Where is Thorin Oakenshield?" the voice screeched above him. The very sound of it hurt his throbbing head. Kili thought of the clearing he had pointed out to his uncle. It was so close by. If he told, the orc would be on them in hours. He shook his head.

There was a moment of furious silence and then the creature said, "Bring me a torch" No. No more fire. Anything but fire. The torch came and the orc took it in his hand. Then he lifted it over his shoulder and swung it like a sword into the dwarf's side. There was a brief second when there was only the feeling of impact. Kili registered the fact that one or more of his ribs had just shattered under the force of the swing.

Then there was fire.

More accurately there was nothing but fire. Kili was fire and had never been anything else. It consumed his entire consciousness and the world was made of nothing but pain. He possessed no coherent thought. Could not form the words to beg the orc for mercy. The torch smashed deeper into his skin and Kili wondered if there was even any skin left there or if it had already been burned away. If he had been able to think properly he would take comfort in the fact that soon the flame would destroy his nerves and there would be no more pain there, and perhaps he would take even more comfort in the fact that if the orc held it much longer after that it might simply end his life there and then.

But the orc was not having that. And being practiced in the field of torture he knew the exact point to remove the torch before the burn went beyond the point of pain. He did so, and Kili shut his eyes against the agony, pained animal sounds coming out of his mouth as he tried to remember what it felt like to not be in pain. He could not even breathe without a new burst of agony shooting through his body, and the only reason that he did not scream was because the pain of it would surely kill him.

"Now would you like to tell me?"

And perhaps he would have right there and then, but through the pain he could not remember what he was supposed to tell, only that it was very important that he not tell it. He closed his eyes and shook his head, his breath coming in small agonized gasps.

The orc considered this for a moment. "Shall I get the acid?" one of his minions asked.

After a moment's consideration the Pale Orc shook his head. "Anymore will cause him to faint," he grinned at Kili. "and I want him to be awake for this."

Kili sagged against the tree as slowly the pain returned to something that was at least within the realm of the thinkable. He breathed deeply. His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili, and the second heir to the throne. And he would not tell where his uncle was. He would do this for his uncle and for his brother. He would make them proud even if it meant his death.

Kili closed his eyes. He was so tired. He didn't know how long he had been in the cell, but surely it was at least a day, maybe more, and he had not slept at all during that time. The pain was still there, but perhaps now he would be able to sleep. Perhaps that would quell the fire burning in his head for a little while at least, for it seems that even though the fire on his body had come out, there was one still burning in the back of his mind, echoing the pain he was feeling and magnifying it. If he was thinking better he would have identified it as fever, and perhaps the beginnings of something else, but to Kili it was only fire.

Kili felt the blessed fingers of sleep curling around him, when suddenly a hot burning thing pressed into his neck. He screamed and instantly regretted it as the fire in his side started up again, as lively as ever. The Pale Orc grinned down at him. "Wouldn't want you falling asleep on me. You might miss the fun." Kili shied back against the tree and hissed as his back touched the bark. The orc laughed. "So what shall we do to you this time? I suppose the acid might still be too much, and there'll be time for that later. Perhaps a knife."

Kili whimpered and the orc grinned. One of his minions handed him a knife and he flipped it in his fingers "Where to start . . . where to start?" He put the tip of the blade against Kili's face, and with a gruesome smile drew it deeply along his cheek and across the bridge of his nose to the other side of his face. He continued in this fashion carving swirling designs into Kili's face and neck, never going deep enough to kill him, only to cause pain. After five minutes or so he pulled the knife away and admired his handiwork. "So, little dwarf, where is Thorin?"

His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili, and the second heir to the throne. And he would not tell where his uncle was. He would do this for his uncle and for his brother. He would make them proud even if it meant his death. After taking a deep breath, Kili shook his head.

He expected the pain to come instantly, but it did not. The orc looked at him in disgust for a long moment, and then shoved his knife into Kili's burned arm with a force so violent it took Kili's breath from him. Then the orc straightened and walked away. "Do not let him sleep," it said over it's shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been around twenty six hours since Fili had seen his brother. He'd kept exact count, almost down to the minute, until hour eighteen when he finally succumbed to pain and exhaustion and drifted off to sleep. He hadn't slept more than two hours, as the visions of his brother being tortured were even worse in sleep that they were when he was awake. Twenty six hours was too long. It was time to get his brother. Gandalf had worked on the injuries and Fili could walk and fight now which was good enough. He walked up to his uncle who was busy examining what weapons they had left "We have to get him, Thorin. We can't just leave him there!" Thorin was moving weapons from the pile to a group of other dwarves by the fire, who were repairing them as well as they could with the limited means.. Fili followed after his uncle as best he could, considering he was injured.

"I know. But we can't just go barging in there. They'll slaughter us within a minute of us walking through the door. No, we need a plan. Balin! Dwalin!" Thorin walked over to where the two other dwarves were sitting.

Fili gave up walking over to a small creek and throwing a couple of pebbles in the water, watching them splash "Don't worry, Kili. I'm coming. I'm not gonna let you down again." he whispered, a lone tear dripping down his cheek.

After what seemed like hours to Fili, Thorin came back and sat down by the fire.

"Well? What's the plan?" Nori asked.

"Gandalf." Thorin looked at the wizard to explain his plan.

"When I went down to rescue you all, I found . . . well, I found a hidden passageway of sorts."

"Of sorts?" Oin asked.

"Gandalf says that involves sneaking in through the dungeons," Thorin answered.

"But it's still a way in, right?" Fili asked anxiously.

"Yes, Fili. It is a way in."

The dwarves agreed on their plan and soon they were on their way to Goblin-Town.

Once they reached the bottom of the mountain, Gandalf pressed his hand against the rock and muttered an incantation. Soon, the dwarves were creeping along rickety old bridges and up into the dungeons.

Thorin's company walked on in silence for a few more minutes before they reached a dead end.

"I thought you knew where you were going," Thorin complained.

"I do." Gandalf raised his staff in front of him and muttered another spell. The rock before the company of dwarves soon disintegrated.

The group filed themselves into the cell they had broken into.

Thorin was looking around for the door when he heard a gasp from the corner.

He looked to his nephew to see him crouched onto the floor. "Kili . . ." Thorin heard Fili whisper.

"Fili? What is it?" Thorin came up behind the blonde dwarf and looked into his hands. There, was a small silver hair ornament. One that belonged to his youngest nephew. It had been given to him by their mother years ago, there was an identical one clasped into Fili's hair.

"But, if he isn't here, then where is he?" Fili asked desperately, staring at the small silver thing in his hand. He knew Kili would never leave it behind willingly. What could have happened?

It was at that moment that the door to the dungeons swung open and the enormous goblin king waddled through it. All the dwarves were on their feet in seconds.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Thorin Oakenshield. You know, i thought you escaped my kingdom so you wouldn't have to stay. And yet here you are. I have to admit I am intrigued as to why you came back.".

Thorin took two steps forward and the guards moved to seize him, but it was eleven dwarves on three goblins this time and within moments Thorin had his sword on the goblin kings throat. "Where is my nephew?"

The creature uttered a great, gurgling laugh "Oh that's why you came back" it paused laughing harder "it seems he has moved on without you"

Thorin pressed the sword in harder "What does that mean?" he demanded, fearing the worst. The creature simply laughed harder. The sword tip pressed in deeper and a small drop of blood formed on the creature's neck.

Abruptly the laughing ceased "With the orc. The pale orc took him!"

Thorin growled and Fili uttered a sound half way between a yelp and a scream "Where did they go?" Fili begged, the thing just shook it's head, and before another question could be uttered the sword pierced it's throat.

Three hours later they had returned to the camp. Niether Fili nor Thorin had uttered a word since the slaughter of the goblin king. After a few futile attempts to comfort the two the other dwarves gave up and built up a fire, leaving them alone.

Fili stared at his uncle "We're going to get him, right?"

Thorin looked up. HIs eyes were rimmed with red, it occurred to Fili briefly that this was the first time he'd seen his uncle cry since their mother had passed "He is dead, Fili" his uncle said slowly, sadly, and his head dropped into his hands. "If that beast had him he is dead. I am sorry. I am so sorry, Fili. But he is dead"

"No!" Fili shouted "No! How can you say something like that? We have no proof. It might have kept him alive"

"Why?" his uncle muttered, despairingly.

"I- I don't know. But he might be. We have to-"

"What?" Thorin shouted, suddenly angry "Go after the Pale Orc? Waste more lives! I'm sorry FilI! Don't you know how sorry I am? He was my nephew and my heir! But he is dead, Fili. You may go home if you wish, but I am not losing you or any other dwarf to that creature.

Fili choked out a sob "Please?"

Thorin did not answer, instead he pulled his remaining nephew close to him and the two of them wept for the lost child.

_His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili, and the second heir to the throne. And he would not tell where his uncle was. He would do this for his uncle and for his brother. He would make them proud even if it meant his death. _

Kili had been running those sentences over and over in his head as the hours melded into sleepless days. It was his sanity, his life line, it kept his mouth sealed and his head clear, or at least as clear as it could be. How long had it been since he slept? Two days, maybe three? It felt like years. And with the fever from his no doubt infecting injuries creeping on, Kili could barely keep his thoughts straight anymore. The only thing that kept him going was the thought that he might by some power on this earth be able to see his brother once again.

"Where is Thorin Oakenshield? I know you know. And I will get it out of you."

_His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili, and the second heir to the throne. And he would not tell where his uncle was. He would make them proud even if it meant his death._ Kili looked down at his mangled boots, and a hand smacked across his cheek. Over the past day he had been bruised and battered and burned, oh god the burns, in every way he could have possibly imagined in his worst of nightmares, and so many ways that he could not. There was not a centimeter of undamaged flesh on him and the mark of the hand burned as it struck his layers of injury upon injury.

"Get the potion." Kili would have panicked if he was capable of panicking still, but he was far past that place. If only they just let him sleep! Or die. Death would be better. So much better.

"Your highness," an orc said handing strange looking bottle filled with an iridescent yellow liquid to the Pale Orc.

"You know, this would be so much easier if you would just tell me where your little company was," Azog whispered in Kili's ear.

Kili shook his head, tears slid down his face and the salt burned his cheeks. He just wanted it to end.

"Then this is your doing." The Pale Orc slowly tipped the bottle until a yellowish liquid began dripping into Kili's wounds. At first there was no pain.

But that didn't last for a long time.

Soon pain blossomed over his body as the potion dripped into his wounds. At first it felt sort of pleasantly warm, like sitting by a fire, but the fire was growing and growing and soon it was scorching his limbs. And then he was in it. There was no part of him that was not pain. And unlike the fire, it did not end. It burned and burned and burned. He could not do this. He had to do this. _His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili. And he would not tell where his uncle was. He would do this for his uncle and for his brother. He would make them proud even if it meant his death. _

Blackness covered his eyes, but not the welcome blackness of sleep. Instead there was so much pain that his other senses were simply unable to function. Fireworks exploded in front of his shut eyes and wave after wave of pain ate through his body and his mind. He cowered into the corners of his mind looking for something, anything to hang on to. _His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili. And he would not tell where his uncle was._

After what must have been hours the pain began to ebb, and ever so slowly Kili came back to the world. He wished he hadn't. The Pale Orc grinned down at him. Kili slumped forward and caught a view of his shoes. He tried to make sense of the red splotches he saw and realized he must have been vomiting blood. He coughed weakly and it shook his entire body with pain.

The orc leered at his agonized expression. "We'll leave him here for a moment. Do not let him sleep." No. Please. He wanted to sleep. He only wanted to sleep.

_His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili. He would not tell._

Then Kili saw a flash of blonde hair, stepping through the tree's.

He pulled against his rope, his body screaming. "Fili?" he choked.

"I'm here, Kili. I'm here," his brother had crossed to him, and knelt so he could face Kili in his slumped position.

Kili panicked, "Get out of here Fili! Hurry! Get out! Get out, they'll see you! Run!"

Fili smiled sadly, "It's ok, little brother, they aren't gonna see me. How are you doing?"

"I don't know how much longer I can take this, Fili."

Fili's expression became fierce. "You have to hold on, brother. They'll kill us if you tell."

Kili nodded and whispered hoarsely, "I'll try. Help me. Please"

"I'm sorry, Kili, but I can't I can't risk my own life. You should know that. Just toughen up, little brother. You'll be fine."

The blonde dwarf started walking away. "No! Fili! Come back!"

Azog smiled as the dwarf shouted at air "Happened quicker than usual. Perhaps the fever. He will break soon."


	4. Chapter 4

Kili's eyes were just starting to close. The hallucinations had begun some time ago, though he did not know that that was what they were, brought on by a combination of exhaustion, fever, and desperation. Horrible things danced in front of Kili's vision and tore at his flesh. He could no longer tell the real pains from the phantom ones. His eyes shut the rest of the way against the horrors. Maybe he could get a few minutes rest. He was just about to slip into unconsciousness when a bucket of boiling water splashed onto his face.

"Wouldn't want you falling asleep on us, would we?" an orc said.

Kili did not scream as the pain of the scalding water overtook him. It was one of the lesser pains he'd experienced over the last few days, and in contrast seemed almost pleasant, but it still yanked him back to consciousness as his desperate nerves tried to tell his brain that this was wrong.

"Just tell me where he is. I don't see what issue is. It's not as if they care for you, else they would have come back."

His name was Kili. He was the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, brother to Fili, and the second heir to the throne.

"Well, I suppose we must loosen his tongue again. Bring the torch."

His name was Kili. He was the brother to Fili.

The Pale Orc pressed the torch to Kili's injured side. Pain blossomed. No matter how many times it happened, Kili could not make himself use to the fire.

He was the brother to Fili.

The pain was just too much to bear.

Fili.

"Care to tell me now?" the Pale Orc asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Kili sobbed, his addled brain clinging to the image of his brother. The orc raised the torch again. He could take it anymore. "They-they're by a river near Bree." I'm sorry, Fili, he thought, as the horrible things swam up out of the fire in his head to gnaw at him again. He didn't mind anymore. He deserved it.

"Now that's more like it. Tie him to a warg."

Kili hung his head in shame as he was forced onto the back of a warg. His eyes stared up at the sky. There was no one to stop him from sleeping now, but he would not allow it, he would see what he had done. Slowly he became conscious of the fact that there was a face hovering over his. He gazed up and met his brother's eyes.

Fili looked away from him in disgust. "Why did you tell, Kili? How could you be so weak?"

"I didn't mean to Fili," Kili sobbed. "I swear I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"You've killed me Kili," the phantom brother spat. "You know that, don't you. You've killed me." As he spoke a gash opened up on Fili's head. Kili watched in horror as the blood dripped down it and splashed on to his forehead.

"No!" Kili screamed. "No! No! NO NO NO NO!" And he kept on like this, screaming at the bleeding air, until his throat bled and he could scream no more. Within an hour of his silence they reached the clearing and Kili did not bother to look around. After all, here was the proof right above him, his brother spilling blood down onto him.

"Where are they?" the Pale Orc asked Kili.

The dwarf did not answer. His entire world was encompassed by his vision of his dying brother. There was nothing else left in it.

"Fool!" the orc spat at the unresponsive dwarf. Kili was untied roughly from the Warg and thrown to the ground. The orc stamped down on his arm. "Answer me!" Kili let out a small cry of pain, but still did not seem to have heard. His brother was dead, and the rest was irrelevant. After a couple more futile stamps the orc backed away from him. "Leave him!" it snapped. "He's burnt out. He'll be dead in hours," and with that the orcs packed and left the dwarf lying in the clearing.

Somewhere in the still coherent recesses of his mind, Kili registered the orcs words. Dead. Yes that sounded nice. And finally the hideous world slipped away from him, and Kili slept.

"Fili? Where's the medicine pack?" Thorin asked his nephew. It had been Fili's job to go and get the pack, but he had forgotten, because of . . . Because of . . . No he would not say it. If he didn't say it is wasn't true.

"I must've left it back at camp." he muttered, staring down at his boots.

"Well, go back and get it. We can't afford to waste perfectly good medicine," Thorin said, but not unkindly. He knew that Fili would be grateful for the time away from the others to confront his grief without seeming weak, he wished he could have that himself. "We will wait here," and he motioned for the other dwarves to rest in the small clearing they had reached. They had not been gone from the camp for long and it could take Fili no more than three hours to get there and back.

Fili turned on his heels and trudged back to the camp. The dwarves had not been traveling for a very long time, and he was at the spot in less than an hour. Fili breathed deeply, glad for the solitude. He had been numb ever since Thorin had explained to him what had happened to his brother. He didn't feel like Fili any more. He didn't feel like anything anymore. It felt as if a part of him had been ripped out, and he knew that for the rest of his life, that piece would be empty. He had just walked through the canopy and grabbed the medecine pack when he spotted a person lying near the burnt out fire.

"Hello?" Fili called. He couldn't see the man's face, but he looked in a bad way. His shirt was torn and there was what looked like dried blood and burns on his back. After no response came the dwarf walked over to the unconscious man and flipped him over.

"Kili!" Fili gasped. The face was beaten nearly beyond recognition, but it was his brother. He fell to his knees by the body and felt frantically for a pulse. After a moment, he found one. The heart beat in his brother's neck was weak and erratic, but it was there. He looked the body over. Kili's face had been slashed multiple times, cuts layered over the cuts. His skin was red and puckered in several places from the scalding, and there was pus leaking from a couple of his wounds. Fili let out a choked sob, as he saw the burns on Kili's arm where the skin had turned black in places, and the scalded marks covering his body. He did not have the strength yet to examine his brothers back, but the blood and pus leaking through his tunic made Fili want to vomit. "Oh, Kili," he murmured, running a hand through his brother's tangled hair. "What have they done to you?"

He felt tears trickle down his face and he wasn't sure if they were of joy or pain. He had his brother back, alive, but in what condition? Fili choked and brought the limp Kili closer. He kissed his brother's forehead and found it burning with fever. This little detail startled him into motion. Kili couldn't have long.

Fili gathered up the injured dwarf in his arms and started at a jog to where the company was, doing his best not to jostle his brother as he ran.  
_

Thorin was starting to panic. It had been nearly four hours since Fili left and he had no idea what the boy could be doing on the way to the medicine pack that could take this time. He could not bear the idea that he had lost another nephew.

He was just about to tell the other dwarves that they were to split up and search for Fili when his nephew came crashing through the underbrush.

It took Thorin a moment to process what his nephew was holding. Fili was wild-eyed, and panting too hard from running too speak.

"Fili, is that-" Thorin asked, shock consuming his face.

Fili nodded breathlessly, after a moment he panted "He . . . needs . . . help."

Thorin stared wide-eyed for a moment and then leapt into action. "Give him to me." He set the beaten Kili down on one of the bedrolls and tried not to scream at his condition. "Where did you find him?"

Fili caught his breath and then said, "Back at our old campsite, passed out by the fire pit."

"How long ago?"

"Nearly two hours. It was harder to run carrying him."

Thorin nodded "Gandalf!"

The wizard walked over to see what the fuss was about and his eyes landed upon Kili. "Oh, my."

"What can you do for him?" Thorin snapped.

Gandalf bent down next to the dwarf. "Honestly, Thorin. I can't say. He's beaten badly, and his wounds are infected. I can close up the worst of them, but he'll have to get through the fever himself, and the other things . . ."

Thorin nodded but Fili looked confused. "What other things? What else is wrong with him?"

Gandalf gave Fili a pitying expression. "At this point there's no telling," and he left it at that, moving to tend to Kili's wounds.

He whispered incantations for a few minutes and soon backed away. "That will heal the worst of his wounds, and help to rest him. For now that's all I can do. I'll speak to the other dwarves about getting some medicine made, but it will only do so much."

Gandalf started to get up and turn away, but Fili shot a hand out to stop him. "Gandalf, wait," he said, his voice filling with tears. "Is he going to survive?"

Gandalf looked down at Fili and smiled sadly "He is strong Fili. His chances are good."  
_

Fili was lying near his brother for the past three hours as Kili slowly regained his strength. Every so often he would steal a glance and then surpress a scream at the state his brother was in. How could anyone be so cruel? Even for an orc, this was beyond anything Fili had ever seen before.

While Fili was lost in his own thoughts, Kili slowly started to come to.

Fili heard a whimper escape his younger brother and immediately turned to see if he was awake. Slowly, big brown eyes made their way up to Fili's face.

"Kili! You're awake!"

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Kili slowly went from whimpering to screaming as he stared intently at his older brother.

"Kili? What are you talking about?"

"I failed you. It's all my fault." Tears made their way down his damaged cheeks, and he seemed to be trying to back away, but his body would not let him move.

"What? No, you were so brave, Kili. So brave." He reached out his hand tentatively to his brother. He wasn't sure what was wrong but some instinct told him to be careful with how he moved around Kili. Kili shied away but didn't actually attempt to move. Fili crept another inch closer, and took his brother's least injured hand, attempting to get his attention. "Can you look at me?" he said gently. Kili whimpered and shook his head. Fili inhaled deeply and took on the voice he used to use when Kili had nightmares when he was little "Hey. It's okay. Just look at me. Of course you can. It's just me, Kili." Slowly Kili brought his face up to meet his brother's. "That's good. Can you tell me what's wrong?" Fili kicked himself. Stupid question. What wasn't wrong?

Kili gulped and his eyes locked on Fili's forehead. Fili reached up his hand to try and brush away what his brother was staring at, but there was nothing there. He was about to ask Kili what it was when the other dwarves began to stir at the sound of the two brothers.

"He's awake?" Gandalf looked over to see a wide eyed Kili. "Oin, give him some medicine." Oin walked over to where the young dwarf lay, but didn't make it within two feet.

"No! Get back!" Kili curled into a ball, bringing his knees tightly to his face. Fili put a hand on his brother's arm and Kili hissed. Fili yanked the hand away like Kili's skin had burned him. "Sorry," he muttered. He turned to Oin. "I think maybe in a couple of hours."

Oin nodded and turned away all the dwarves kindly pretending they had not noticed Kili curled into a ball.

What could be wrong with him? Fili stared at his tightly curled brother. What did they do to him?

Keeping in mind Kili's reaction when he touched his arm Fili scooted just a little bit closer to his brother and tried to get his attention once again. "Kili," he whispered. "Could you look at me again?" Kili nodded and his head came up from between his knees.

"I'm sorry, Fili. I didn't mean to," he muttered.

Fili ignored this for now, focusing on the goal at hand. "It's alright, little brother. It's fine."

"Don't let them hurt me anymore."

"I won't, I-" Fili's voice broke and he took a moment to collect himself. "I promise Kili. No one's ever gonna hurt you again. Okay?"

Kili nodded, but the look in his eyes said he didn't believe him.

"Now," Fili said, doing his best to keep his voice level despite everything. "I think you should get some sleep. Is that alright little brother?"

Kili shook his head. "Can't. Hurts," he said simply, his gaze drifting to some point in the distance. He froze up, his eyes widening.

Fili moved so his brother was looking at him again. "Tell you what Kili. I'll stay right here, and I promise no one'll hurt you anymore. Now go back to sleep. It's all gonna be better in the morning."

Kili sniffed, and gave him a skeptical look. "You won't leave this time?"

Fili's heart broke in his chest, thinking his brother was referring to Goblin-Town. "No, Kili. I won't leave this time. Promise."


	5. Chapter 5

Soon Oin approached the injured dwarf and looked over his wounds. Kil was muttering incoherently in his sleep, earning worried glances from his brother, who hadn't left his side for a moment

"Not good," Oin said after examining the sleeping dwarf. "I believe many of his wounds are infected. We need some hot water to clean them out"

"I'll get a fire going," Thorin said. Fili looked up. He hadn't realized his uncle was awake, his attention had been so deeply on Kili, but he could see Thorin sitting about ten feet away watching the brothers, and Fili supposed he must have been there all night.

Thorin walked over to an open clearing and reached for two pieces of flint from his bag. He struck them together to make a spark on the pile of wood. Meanwhile, Kili started tossing and turning, his mutterings getting louder.

"Kili?" Fili looked to his brother.

Kili's mutterings we're continuing to increase in volume, his tossing about growing more violent. Fili pulled his brother closer and wrapped an arm around him to keep him from dashing himself against the ground. "No. Please stop. No," Kili groaned.

"Kili, it's okay. No one's gonna hurt you. Not anymore. I'm here." Fili did not want to wake his brother, but he could not resist the words. After a moment Kili stopped tossing so violently and his eyes opened

Kili rolled over and looked pleadingly into his brother's eyes. "Make them stop, Fili." Fili hugged his brother close and smoothed his hair. "I will, Kili. I will."

"He's awake?" Thorin asked from near the fire pit. Kili slowly turned toward the new voice, tensing his muscles in preparation for an attack when his eyes lighted on the small flame Thorin had been building.

A scream ripped through his teeth "NO! Please! Anything but the fire! No more! No" he dissolved into tears muttering the word "no" over and over again as he pushed violently against his brother's grasp and continued to scream. Fili held him gently, cursing the way he knew his brother was jostling the wounds. Kili needed to keep still and if he kept on like this he would never heal.

"Kili, look at me!" Kili shook his head and attempted to back away once again, but Fili held him fast. "Kili." He took his brother's face in his hands and forced him to meet his eyes, nodding over his shoulder to Thorin to keep the fire going. He struggled desperately to find something to say and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind "Do you remember when we were little, and you first started to learn how to shoot?"

Kili slowly nodded his head, a look of desperation in his eyes.

"You were much too young, could barely even hold a bow. But Uncle Thorin was taking me to learn, and you had somehow gotten it into your head that you were going to come along" Fili smiled sadly "and you were so damn stubborn that there was no telling you no. So there we are at the archery range, me trying to learn how to nock an arrow, and failing miserably, and you fiddling around with sticks in the dirt. And Uncle Thorin turned away from you, just for a minute, because I wasn't holding my bow properly, and just as I'm about to get it an arrow goes whizzing past my ear and lodges in a tree trunk. I thought we were under attack for a moment, but I turned around and there you were grinning crazy at me with a bow in your hands. You remember how mad Uncle Thorin was?"

Kili gulped, but nodded. In a small voice he added "He said I could've gotten killed, but later you came and-" the dwarf cut himself off to inhale in a sob

Fili smiled reassuringly and continued the narrative "And I told you I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I said you were gonna save my life someday"

Kili nodded tearfully. "You walked me out to the range every day by yourself, until Uncle Thorin agreed to take us"

"That's cuz I knew what a great archer you were gonna turn out to be. I know everything little brother" Kili gave a small pained laugh. Fili glanced over to the pot of water on the fire. It was nearly boiled. If he could just keep his brother's focus for another few minutes...

"And remember" he continued "the first time we had a thunder storm, when you thought that the mountains we're going to break and fall down on us. And you were too scared to be alone so I dragged all the blankets out of my room and across the hall and spent the night on the floor by your bed. Five times mom came in and told me to go back to bed, but I wouldn't go. I didn't leave you then, and I'm not gonna leave you now."

During the time Fili was reminding Kili of that moment, the water finally reached the right temperature. Oin brought the pot over and sat down beside the brothers, while Thorin put out the fire.

"Alright, Kili," Oin said carefully. "I'm gonna clean your wounds to stop them from getting infected" Kili gave Oin a fearful look and Fili patted his brother on the back reassuringly. After a moment Kili nodded and Oin continued "Now, this may hurt a little, but it's very important that you try to stay still" The healer slowly pressed a cloth soaked in hot water to Kili's side.

The young dwarf cried out in pain and squirmed away. "Distract him," Thorin urgently whispered to his eldest nephew "keep talking"

"Kili, look at me. Just ignore the pain. I'm here, little brother. I'm here." And then, Fili started to talk. He talked of their childhood, of nights spent camped by streams, of unpleasant things placed in Thorin's shoes, of finding shapes in clouds and stars. He talked of old friends, and nemeses, of lessons dreaded by them as well as their teachers, and of chores that were to this day waiting to be done. Kili clung to his brother's voice like it was a life line and allowed Oin to clean his wounds without much fuss.

When the work was done, Fili continued to talk. He talked for hours until he didn't really know what, if anything, he was talking about, simply that he was talking and that it seemed to help. He talked until Kili fell asleep and kept talking for a little while until very suddenly he trailed off midsentence, his sleeping form slumping to rest beside his brother's.

Thorin looked sadly at his sleeping nephews. The sight of them overwhelmed him with guilt.

* * *

That morning, the fever broke. Kili had been running a temperature ever since his return, which was probably contributing to his mental state, but since he wouldn't let anyone near him besides his brother, there was not much to be done about it.

Fili awoke that morning and immediately felt that something was different, his hand instinctively going to his brother to make sure that he was still there. Kili was there, resting quietly in his arms, and that was when Fili realized it. That was the difference. Kili was not screaming and writhing in nightmares or hallucinations, his brother was simply quiet, resting peacefully.

This was the first of many milestones for Kili's recovery, and as the days went on, he slowly began to hit more of them. It was not too long before he allowed the other dwarves to approach him, though he did shy closer to his brother whenever they came near, and the day after that, he stopped putting up a fuss about the cleaning of his wounds, as long as Fili was with him.

But for Fili the most important milestone yet, came the fifth night after his brother's return to them. The rest of the party was fast asleep, and Fili had thought that his brother was too, until suddenly he felt Kili stirring in his arms.

"Go back to sleep brother" he said automatically "It's alright"

But rather than obeying his command Kili flipped over on to his back so he could look his brother in they eye. "Fili?" he said, his voice full of fear, and something else that Fili couldn't quite put a finger on.

"Yes, brother"

Kili took a deep, shaky breath "We're not with the orcs anymore are we?"

Fili shook his head "No, brother"

Kili bit his lip "We got out didn't we"

Fili nodded "Yes, brother"

Kili smiled to himself "I thought so. Goodnight Fili" and then he nestled back into his brother's arms and promptly fell asleep. It wasn't until a few minutes later that it finally came to Fili what that other thing he'd noticed in Kili's voice had been.

Hope.

* * *

Shortly after that things began to improve further. Though Fili could tell that his brother's hallucinations still tormented him, Kili finally seemed to have gotten the handle on what was and what wasn't the real world.

On the sixth night since Kili's return, all of the party had been eating together with the exception of the younger dwarf. Thorin had managed to get Fili away from Kili for a rare second so that the elder brother could get some food and what Thorin new was a much needed moment of piece.

The food had just been passed out when the youngest member of their party shuffled slowly up to the fire. There was a tense moment when no one was entirely sure what was going to happen, and Fili and Thorin both readied themselves to get to their feet if Kili needed to be helped or restrained, but Kili simply smiled wearily and took a seat next to his brother. "May I have some food?" he asked.

The other dwarves all looked about in wonder for a moment, and then Bombur passed Kili a bowl.

* * *

That night Fili was awoken by his brother tapping his shoulder. "What is it, Kili?" he mumbled, his eyes starting to flutter open and then snapping the rest of the way up when he saw the tears on his brother's cheeks. He repeated what he'd said earlier "What is it?"

"I thought you were dead" Kili sniffed "You told me you were dead"

Fili's eyes widened. He had known Kili had been hallucinating from the exhaustion and the fever, but his brother had never told him what those hallucinations were. "Oh, Kili. No. I'm here. I'm fine" he pulled his brother closer, thinking how he would feel if he thought Kili dead.

Kili nodded against his brother's shoulder "I thought I'd killed you" he sniffed

At this Fili pushed him back enough so he could meet Kili's eyes. "No" he said, firmly "You were so incredibly brave, and you lasted longer under torture than I could have, than any of us could have. I don't blame you for telling him, Kili. I have nothing but admiration for you, and anyway brother, we got away. The orcs never found us. I was never hurt"

Kili nodded again. "I didn't betray you?"

Fili felt tears brimming in his eyes as he realized what had been plaguing his brother so "No, Kili. You didn't"

* * *

From that day forward, the speed of Kili's recovery increased exponentially, as if the removal of the weight on his mind had expedited his physical healing as well. Within days he could walk easily on his own and even run short distances. Soon he began to practice archery again, and though his burned arms still pained him, Gandalf assured him that with a combination of magic and time he would make a full recovery.

And though occasionally Kili would still freeze up, staring into space at some imagined terror, Gandalf assured Fili and Thorin that his mind seemed to be making a full recovery as well.

Fili, however, did not really allow himself to believe either of these things until one day, nearly two weeks after Kili had returned.

The younger dwarf had grown impatient, and was telling his uncle and brother that he was fine to move on and wanted the party to be on their way. Thorin had stopped him every time, informing him that they were going to wait for Kili to be completely recovered from this last trauma before they went out and risked his life again.

On the night after this decree had been made Fili, and most of the rest of the party, were awoken by a loud yelp followed by a fit of giggling. Though the yelp was heard by all, Fili was fairly certain that only he had heard the giggling, as it was coming from the bedroll right next to him.

He turned to Kili "What did you do?"

Kili made his best innocent face "I don't know what you are referring to brother. I am much to feeble to attempt any sort of mischief" he batted his eyes.

"Oh shut up. What did you do?"

Kili stifled a laugh "I put a frog in Uncle Thorin's bedroll"

Fili raised an eyebrow, a little skeptical that a single amphibian could elicit such a reaction "Just a frog?"

Kili shrugged "Well maybe ten or twenty"

Fili laughed, and as their uncle stormed over to them turned on to his side to make it seem that he was asleep.

The next day the party decided to continue on their journey.

**Author's note:**

**There will probably be one more chapter after this, possibly two, but don't worry the drama isn't quite done yet. Thank you all so much for reading, reviews will earn eternal gratitude!**


	6. Chapter 6

The party resumed their journey and it seemed, at least on the surface, as if things were finally beginning to go back to normal. After the frog incident Kili's pranks resumed. Even though they were not with quite as much vigor as they used to have, they were there nonetheless. Kili's hallucinations had all but stopped, and the injuries were mostly healed. The dwarf could walk, run, and probably even fight if it was necessary, though Fili didn't like the idea.

Despite all this something still worried at Fili about his brother. Though Kili protested the fact, there was no denying that something had irrevocably changed in the youngest dwarf. Fili supposed that this could only be expected after the ordeal he had been through, but still it pained him to see his brother so broken.

However, Fili knew that it was more than just that. Kili seemed constantly troubled, as if there was something deeply worrying. His nightmares had not ceased, and if anything, Fili sensed that they had increased in frequency ever since the dwarves resumed their journey. Perhaps Fili was simply placing the expectations for his brother's recovery too high.

On the third night since they had resumed their journey, the night after a particularly terrible nightmare, Fili decided that whatever was wrong with his brother needed to be addressed. He tapped Kili's shoulder, holding him back from returning to sleep.

Kili turned to him. "What is it Fili? What's wrong?"

Fili gave a small half smile. "I was about to ask you the same question." Fili winced as he realized the stupidity of the question. Up until now, very little had been right. It was a pure miracle that things were changing. How could he expect his brother to be okay? He  
mentally scolded himself and began to turn over to go back to sleep, but Kili was having none of it.

"What do you mean, Fili?"

Fili sighed, realizing that he would now have to explain his stupidity. "Well, it's just that you seem . . . off somehow. Since we started moving again, that is. It's just, I thought you were getting better. That you might even be well again. But now I'm not so sure. Perhaps the others don't notice it. Perhaps even Thorin doesn't. But you can't hide such things from me, Kili."

Kili shrugged. "Fili you have to understand, what happened-"

Fili closed his eyes, the memory paining him. "I know what has been done to you, Kili, and of course you can't be expected to have recovered from it so quickly. Of course not. But there's something more, isn't there?"

Kili's eyes left Fili's and he shook his head, he started to roll over to return to sleep but Fili reached out a hand again, stopping him. "Don't lie to me, Kili. Please. If something is wrong, please just ... just tell me. I couldn't bear it i-if I lost you again. Just please. Talk to me."

Hearing the pain in his brother's voice Kili turned, regretting deeply that he could ever be the cause of such pain. "Really, Fili, it's nothing. Don't worry about me. There's no need."

Fili laughed, quietly but sharply. "Of course there is a need, Kili! And after what you've been through, there's no such thing as 'nothing'. If anything is bothering you, if there is anything on your mind, then please, just tell me!"

There was a long silence as Kili stared away from his brother and into the night, before he finally said, "He's still out there."

Fili's eyes shut as he realized that this was something he could not fix. "Oh, Kili . . . We're never gonna let him get you. Please believe me. He's never going to hurt you ever again."

Kili's eyes blazed. "You can't know that, Fili! You can't! If he came. . . There'd be nothing you could do! Nothing anyone could do! You have no idea how powerful, how cruel . . ." his face contorted at the memories but he forced himself to spit it out anyway. "And what if it's not me he decides on next time? What if it's you, brother? Or Thorin? Or all three of us? Do you think I could stand it then? How would you save me, Fili, if you were tied to a tree being tortured in front of me?"

"That's not going to happen, Kili."

The young dwarf shook his head. "You can't know that. You can never know that."

"You have to believe me when I say that I will not let anyone hurt you ever again. That's a promise, Kili."

Deep down, Kili knew that his brother would do anything - anything - to save him from harm. But everything that has been done to him when he was with the foul orc clouded his judgement. He was just about to argue his point even further when he heard Thorin's voice echo through the forest.

"Everybody up!" The voice bellowed, filled with an unmistakable amount of shock and anger. The brother's leapt to their feet along with the rest of the camp.

"Wh-what is it?" Fili yelled.

"Orcs."

Fili turned to his younger brother to see his eyes widen, moving instinctively in front of him. " It's okay, Kili. They're not gonna hurt you."

"No" Kili muttered, and Fili cursed inwardly. He was getting better, he was, and now this. How were they going to manage. "No" Kili said again and Fili reached behind him to touch his shoulder while maintaing vigilance for the reported orcs. Kili had dropped to asmall ball on the floor and Fili was about to comfort him when the first orc came sprinting towards him. Deciding he could best comfort his brother when he was still alive, Fili parried the orcs sloppy blow and drove his sword into its heart.

Kili, meanwhile, was looking around terrified of what the orcs would do to him this time. His eyes darted around the camp, petrified, until his gaze landed on his brother battling two large orcs. It looked as if Fili was about to be overwhelmed. No, Kili thought. Not my brother. You aren't getting him too. Kili slowly got to his feet and looked around for any weapon he could find. A sword, that would be nice. Frantically searching, his eyes rested upon his trusty blade as he carefully picked up the cold metal. He took a deep breath, and then headed towards his brother.

"Kili! What are you doing?"

Kili looked into his brothers eyes, and Fili observed as he battled the look of absolute terror but utter determination in his brother's face.

"Kili, you'll hurt yourself. Don't worry, I can handle this," Fili said while simultaneously stabbing at a nearby orc. Torn between giving into his yearning for safety and the strong urge to get revenge on the devilish creatures that twisted his mind, Kili collapsed onto the ground.

He looked up just in time to see an orc sneak up behind his brother. You have to get up, he told to himself. The orcs could do anything to him. But they could not harm his brother. That was too far. Get up. Get up. Get up, he kept repeating. Kili slowly got to his feet again and ran towards the orc. Lifting his sword above his head, he brought it down on the things neck just moment before it would have killed Fili.

Fili was going to tell his brother to hide, but soon realized it would be useless. The blonde dwarf knew how stubborn his brother could be, even when he's injured. Fili turned back to the fray, his back to his brother. They always did fight best when they were back to back.

At least Kili seems better, Fili thought to himself as he slashed an orc's throat. His brother was slashing at the wave of orcs coming toward them. Fili felt almost a strange sense of relief to have his brother fighting back to back with him again. That was short-lived, though, for soon out of the darkness came Azog the Defiler.

"You," Thorin spat at the Pale Orc.

"Thorin Oakenshield. I must say you were harder to find than I imagined. Even poor little Kili could not locate you," the orc said, sparing the young archer a sneer. "I'm surprised you're even still alive. I honestly thought the acid would have done you in." Fili shivered at this and the orc grinned at his reaction, continuing "You are stronger than I thought, dwarf. But don't worry. I'll soon fix that." A small whimper escaped Kili's lips at the threat, and Azog turned away with a laugh to charge on Thorin.

Thorin deftly blocked the attack and went to battling the Pale Orc. Meanwhile, Kili's eyes were so big Fili thought they would burst out of their sockets. Kili was backing closer and closer away from the fight and slowly slid down the trunk of a tree, pulling his knees up to his chin.

"Kili. It's alright. Everything's gonna be just fine. But I need you to focus, or else Thorin will die." Fili knew it wasn't the gentlest way to get his brother to cooperate, but he couldn't think of anything else to do at the moment. He had to save his uncle, and he was occupied with the two orcs.

Kili looked up to see his uncle pinned to the ground and Azog about to deal the fatal blow. Springing reflexively into action, he ran up from the ground and blocked the Defiler's blow.

"Oh, I will enjoy killing you. You have become quite a nuisance to me."

Azog brought his mace back behind his head and sent it full force onto Kili - or at least where Kili was standing only a moment ago. The young dwarf had always been fairly agile.

The Defiler let out a groan of frustration and turned his head to find Kili standing right behind him, sword shaking in his grasp.

Yelling a battle cry, Azog swung his mace again and again. But no matter what he did, the young dwarf always seemed to evade him. The Pale Orc let out a grunt of frustration as he tried yet again to pin the dwarf down. But it was to no avail. Kili was just too quick for Azog's mace. However, the Defiler was clever. He soon realized that swinging wildly will do nothing to injure the archer, so instead he took a deep breath and aimed with precision before striking. It paid off. Even though the mace only grazed Kili's side, it still hit his old injuries which caused them to flare up in pain.

Kili wanted to give up right then and there. It wouldn't be that hard. Then he would be free of the pain in his side as well as in his mind. He could just stand there and let Azog deal the final blow. He was right about to drop his sword when his eyes then met those of his brother, who was battling three orcs. Fili saw his brother doubled over in pain and tried even harder to kill the orcs keeping him from his brother.

No, Kili couldn't die. He had to stay alive for his brother. Taking a deep breath, he dodged another blow from the Defiler and stabbed him in the side.

Oh, Azog was going to enjoy this. He brought his mace behind his head and prepared to bring it full force on Kili's head. However, Azog wasn't quick enough. Kili drove his sword into the Pale Orc, blood staining his tunic as he made the fatal blow. The orc fell, but Kili overcome with the moment did not stop. The young dwarf drew back his sword and chopped at the creature again and again, tears running down his face and his body shaking.

The rest of the orcs slain, cautiously Fili took a step forward and laid a hand on his brother's arm. "You can stop now, Kili," he said quietly. "You can rest. It is done."

Slowly the vigor behind the hacking faded and Kili turned from the corpse and into his brother's arms. Fili smoothed his brother's hair as Kili cried quietly into his shoulder, and allowed a smile to cross his face for the first time since Goblin-Town. "Kili" he said, pulling his brother back to meet his eyes "It is done."

**Author's Note-**

**Sorry guys I know this took a really long time, real life reared it's ugly head for a while, but in the words of Fili "It is done". I hope you liked this, reviews are always appreciated. The two of us are working on some other fics that will be showing up soon. We've got another Hobbit one in the works as well as a Merlin one, and if you would like to see a strange fandom mess by the two of us then you should check out A Fantastical Trouble. **

**Okay self promotion done.**

**It's been great guys. Thank you all SO MUCH for the lovely reviews that kept us going when we kind of wanted to give up. HUGS FOR ALL OF YOU! **

**Bye. **


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